Man Charged In Shooting Of Store Clerk

May 31, 1996|By EVELYN LARRUBIA Staff Writer

OAKLAND PARK - — An anonymous tip Thursday afternoon led detectives to a Fort Lauderdale man they have been tracking for more than a month after witnesses said he shot a clerk during a convenience store robbery, police said.

Harris and Kerron Plunkett, 16, were armed when they walked into the Wawa Food Store, 2800 NW 21st Ave., about 10 p.m. on April 27, police said.

Clerk Mohammad Lama, 27, a father of four, was cooperating with the robbers, a witness told detectives. But after Lama handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, the witness told police, Harris shot him anyway.

Lama was critically wounded from a single bullet wound to the neck. He is still hospitalized at Broward General Medical Center in serious but stable condition.

By May 1, detectives had identified Harris as the shooter and asked for help in finding him.

They arrested Plunkett on May 3, charging him with armed robbery, but Harris eluded detectives until Thursday.

Someone who recognized Harris from a police flier called CrimeStoppers on Thursday afternoon and reported seeing him in the 5400 block of Northwest 24th Terrace in Lauderhill. He was still there when detectives pulled up moments later.